AI Research Scientist | Research & Development

About the role

Jump Trading Group empowers exceptional talents in Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science to push scientific boundaries and apply cutting-edge research to global financial markets. Our AI team is an R&D group of quantitative researchers, engineers, and ML experts leading LLM research and applications at Jump. Our mission is to combine emerging techniques and original research to generate signals from unstructured data and integrate frontier AI capabilities into the workflows of our quantitative researchers and traders.

We are seeking research scientists with a demonstrated ability to apply machine learning to achieve state-of-the-art capabilities in complex and challenging domains. The ideal candidate will lead open-ended research projects from concept to production, identifying compelling problems suited to LLM capabilities, collaborating with trading teams, and improving model design, tools, and infrastructure. Projects may target any area of the quantitative research process with potential for firmwide application.

We value a fluid mix of skills, including ML expertise, engineering pragmatism, and market intuition, and welcome candidates who demonstrate brilliance in one area, competence in a second, and enthusiasm for the third.

Responsibilities

• Lead open-ended research projects from concept to production, focusing on problems well-suited to current and projected LLM capabilities.
• Collaborate extensively with trading teams to understand requirements and constraints.
• Continuously improve model design, tools, and infrastructure.
• Apply machine learning to achieve state-of-the-art capabilities in complex domains.
• Other duties as assigned or needed.

Requirements

• 5+ year track record of creating ML systems with real metrics and impact in industry and/or academia.
• Strong general ML background with exposure to language modeling architectures (e.g., transformers, SSMs).
• Solid development skills in Python and/or C++.
• Familiarity with ML libraries/frameworks such as PyTorch (preferred), TensorFlow, and/or JAX.
• Intellectual curiosity, versatility, and originality combined with a pragmatic outlook.
• Ability to reason through quantitative problems and communicate effectively with trading researchers.
• PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related subject.
• Strong publications record at ICML, ICLR, AAAI, NeurIPS, UAI, KDD, or equivalent.
• Reliable and predictable availability.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with HPC and distributed large model training.
• Experience with GPU performance optimization (CUDA or ROCm).
• Experience with end-to-end model development, especially in LLMs.
• Prior academic publications and/or contributions to open-source AI research.
• Strong opinions on best practices in ML research, tooling, and/or infrastructure.

Benefits

• Discretionary bonus eligibility.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• HSA, FSA, and Dependent Care options.
• Employer-paid Group Term Life and AD&D Insurance.
• Voluntary Life & AD&D insurance.
• Paid vacation plus paid holidays.
• Retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental leave.
• Wellness Programs.

Pay

Annual Base Salary Range: $200,000 USD - $300,000 USD